Category Archives: Newest Blogs (最新ブログ)

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) September 21, 2020 In classes that I’ve taken in biochemistry and physiology, the professors and the textbooks tend to describe fat storage in adult males as “apple” shaped and that in women as “pear” shaped. The technical terms are “android pattern storage” (men) and “gynecoid pattern storage” (women). After puberty, males tend to store fat in and on their abdomens and upper bodies, whereas women store it around their breasts, hips and thighs. These storage characteristics lead to the apple and pear shape analogies. Of course, there are exceptions and some women will store fat in an android pattern, so it isn’t iron-clad for either gender. Another interesting fact is that upper body fat deposition occurs more due to hypertrophy of the cells that are already there, whereas in the lower body, it’s due more […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) August 22, 2020 Showa Generation and Heatstroke Many people born in the Showa Era grew up in homes that had no air conditioning with electric fans at best. Even in Hawaii, most of the homes back then had no air conditioning. When I first came to Japan in the 1980s, the situation was pretty much the same. Some of the retail and service industries had air conditioning, but it was still a rarity in most homes. At the time, though, Japan’s population was still mainly made up of comparatively young people whose bodies were capable of a rather wider range of metabolic adaptations. In addition, the old-fashioned A/Cs were pretty much straightforward and mechanical, while lacking the current microcomputer abilities of the units we have today. Terms like “cooler-byo” (A/C illness) and comments like “I […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) August 20, 2020 The day before yesterday I was talking to a widow who spoke to her late husband enshrined in her Buddhist altar asking him if he’d like to have a cup of coffee. She brewed the coffee and set a cup in front of the altar and the votive light on the altar flickered. She took it as a sign of her deceased husband’s appreciation of his favorite drink. The phenomenon of electrical interference is quite common overseas; however, here in Japan it seems comparatively unusual. Moreover, foreign spirits seem to enjoy influencing electricity more than Japanese spirits and are known to turn electrical appliances like TVs on and off. Sometimes they even provide replacement images on TV. They also sometimes communicate by activating broken appliances like radios and clocks. 霊と電気 一昨日、未亡人と話していた時、お盆中に仏壇前に亡くなったご主人に「コーヒーを飲みましょうか」と言ってからコーヒーを出したと言った。お供えをすると、仏壇の電気がちかちかした。大好きなコーヒーが出て喜んだと解釈した。 外国では電気の干渉は霊がいる場合にはよくある現象だけど、日本ではその現象は比較的に少ないようだ。更に外国の霊は電気遊びが好きで、テレビのような電化製品をつけたり、消したりするケースが多い。テレビに画像を替える例も読んだことがある。場合によって壊れた電化製品も復活することもある。 […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) July 30, 2020 The Tecumseh Prophecy The Shawnee chief Tecumseh made a prophecy about future American presidents in 1813. He prophesied that every 20th year American president would die and that the elections of each of these presidents would be followed by wars within seven years of their elections. Since then seven presidents elected during those years have died in office, while Reagan survived an assassination attempt. Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and G.W. Bush, Jr. did not die. テクムセー大統領予言 1813年にショーニー族のテクムセー首長は未来の米国大統領について予言した。20年毎に米大統領が任務中に死ぬと預言した。更に、それぞれの大統領の選挙の7年以内に戦争が起きるとも予言した。 それ以来、予言通り7人の米大統領が任務中に亡くなった*。トマス・ジェファーソン、ジェームズ・モンロー及びジョージ・ウオーカー・ブッシュだけが亡くならなかった。 *リンク先は英語の記事 ************** English novels by Billy Hammond published by AELS (AELS出版英語書籍リスト）   I. Majoh Gakuin and Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools Trilogy 1. Majoh Gakuin & Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools 2. Lost Witch (The second book) 3. Fate & Magic (The final book in the trilogy) II. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) July 14, 2020 The 5% refund program to promote cashless transactions ended on June 30th. Since then, I’ve reverted back to paying cash for what I buy and my credit cards remain in my wallet. When I went to a rather popular liquor store yesterday, I noticed that almost everyone was paying cash at the register. A few weeks ago about 70-80% of the shoppers were using credit cards (I never saw anyone use PayPay or any of the other cash transfer systems). The same held true at the supermarket, with a slightly higher percentage paying with cash. I think it’s proof that the fools in Tokyo who think cashless transactions are great have once again misread the Japanese population. 現金支払いに戻った 5%還付金制度が6月30日に終了した。それ以来私は現銀で買い物をしている。還付金を貰うために使っていたクレジット カードが財布の中のままで出す気もしない。 昨日、人気のある酒屋さんに行ったとき、殆どの人は現銀で支払っているに気付いた。数週間前、約7～8割の買物客はクレジット カードを出していた（PayPayなどのような支払いはそこで見たことがない）。酒屋さんに行く前に寄ったスーパーも同様だった。しかし、スーパーの現金払いの割合が高かったような気がした。 この現象は政治家のバカさの証拠である。彼らは国民の意思が読めない。誰も欲しくないマイナンバーカードから安倍のマスクまでの失敗の連続だ。 *************** Books published by AELS (AELS出版書籍) 魔女学院＆光塾：魔女ガールズの冒険 原作＆翻訳：ビレー　ハモンド 日本語編集：伊庭野れい子 […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) July 10, 2020 Even Rain Doesn’t Stop Harvesting Cucumbers have very tight harvesting schedules. When it’s time to pick them, it’s time; never mind the weather. It was pouring down buckets this morning and I had to drive back home with my lights on in the blinding rain, but I harvested what needed to he harvested. 大雨でも… キュウリの収穫間隔は短い。遅れたら一気に大き過ぎるサイズになる。収穫する時期には天気が関係ない。 今朝、バケツを引っ繰り返したような土砂降りで、帰りはヘッドライトを点灯しなければならないほど降っていたが、収穫しなければならないキュウリを採った。 **************** English novels by Billy Hammond published by AELS (AELS出版英語書籍リスト）   I. Majoh Gakuin and Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools Trilogy 1. Majoh Gakuin & Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools 2. Lost Witch (The second book) 3. Fate & Magic (The final book in the trilogy) II. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire Trilogy 1. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire 2. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire – Returns 3. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire – Challenges (The final book […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) July 7, 2020 If you’re younger than thirty years old, then you probably have no memory of film cameras. The first commercial digital camera came out in 1989 and has taken over photography ever since. The digital camera revolutionized picture taking, but at the same time, it cheapened the value of photos. In the days of film, you were stuck with what you had framed when you snapped the shutter. There was no “delete” and another chance to re-shoot the photo. Since even “bad” photos were on the same roll of film, you’d have to pay for their developing along with the others. Thus, people were more careful when they took photos. Today, you can snap hundreds of photos and choose the ones you want. This has led to a mentality where people just point […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) June 28, 2020 Azithromycin When I took an introductory pharmacology MOOC from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the professor referred to azithromycin as “the most widely prescribed antibiotic on the planet.” Azithromycin belongs to a group of antibiotics known as the macrolides. Other examples include erythromycin and clarithromycin. These work by binding to the 50S ribosomal RNA subunit of bacteria and inhibiting translocation. This action is convenient because the 50S subunit exists in prokaryotic ribosomes, but not in eukaryotic ribosomes (as in humans). However, since the mitochondrial ribosomes are similar to those in bacteria, mitochondrial protein synthesis can also be inhibited. One of the benefits of azithromycin compared to erythromycin and clarithromycin, is that it does not inactivate the cytochrome P450 enzymes so it lacks the side effects of those […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) June 10, 2020 Censored Bids The Abe Administration has turned out to be a master of cover-ups. Documents get censored, lost, shredded, or altered before ultimately disappearing from the public’s view. The latest fiasco is a public bid for a company to handle the distribution of emergency funds. The bid summary has had the figures for the losing bid blackened so that nobody can see if it was higher or lower than the winning bid tendered by a rather suspicious company that immediately proved to be incapable of doing the job and which subsequently shoved it through other companies to get the work done while pocketing a hefty commission. This deal has nothing to do with Japan’s national security and people who pay taxes have the right to know everything about it. Anything less makes […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) June 1, 2020 Cucumber Growth The cucumber seedlings have reached the net height. キュウリの成長 ネットの高さまで成長して来た。 ************ English novels by Billy Hammond published by AELS (AELS出版英語書籍リスト）   I. Majoh Gakuin and Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools Trilogy 1. Majoh Gakuin & Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools 2. Lost Witch (The second book) 3. Fate & Magic (The final book in the trilogy) II. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire Trilogy 1. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire 2. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire – Returns 3. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire – Challenges (The final book in the trilogy) III. Fantasy fiction set in Japan 1. 21st Century Ninja 2. Regressed 3. Japanese Woman IV. Fantasy fiction set outside of Japan 1. Dimension Jumpers ************